The Historic 2023 Loretta Lynn Amateur Nationals

The week started out very traditional and normal, it was the 42nd running of Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National and there was a typical excitement in the air. There was curiosity about what things would look like after the flood of 2022 had wiped out many things around the ranch and took lives. Over the off-season, the hard work of many and donations brought the hallowed race track and grounds back into shape. Crews worked hard to rebuild existing structures and new ones along with getting the track rebuilt. The soil from the track was washed away with the waters and needed to be rebuilt to match its former look, feel, and challenges.

Monster Energy Announcers Tower

If you ask anyone what the most noticeable difference in changes this year it would be the announcer’s tower. The tower is built from multiple shipping containers and is elevated on pylons to both provide shelter below and keep it out of any future flooding events. From here the TV crew and other officials can keep a watchful eye on the action and a rooftop deck gives a unique view for VIP guests. There will be many photos of the new tower, but with the weather, we will cover shortly there was a maybe once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grab some historic shots of the tower. The photos below as well as others we have give a glimpse into what the heavy rains looked like late in the week which made conditions very challenging.

The Weather

The weekend leading up to and the early part of the week of the event the weather was very traditional. It was hot and it was very humid making even those short trips to the track brutal for both racers and fans. Participants expect these conditions and most try and prepare for them the best that they can so that their performance is as minimally affected by conditions as possible. There was rain forecasted for mid/late week coming into the event but no one could expect the monsoons that clobbered the area on Friday and Saturday. There were multiple weather delays due to large amounts of rain and lightning. During these times frustration boiled among racers, but there was surely lots of discussion around safety, how to provide the best track for the event, and how to still get in all the mots.

With these delays, we say the second motos get shortened by five minutes and the third motos had to be shrunk down to twelve minutes in order to get them all completed. There was talk of the third motos for the micro classes being canceled because of lack of time and brutal conditions for small bikes. After a strong showing by mini parents and some strategy sessions, the plan worked and the third motos were run late on Saturday.

Racing action

The amount of racers really does not vary from year to year since there are always the same classes and the same number of riders that are allowed along with a small number of alternates means the number does not vary much. The lots were full and buzzing with excitement and nerves. The look and feel of the event match the level of a Pro Motocross National event with all the big bike brands and sponsors on hand to support their riders and show off their products.

The weather played a huge factor in the results for the second half of the week. Races were delayed and shorted, mud conditions typically have a big effect of shuffling the results. You tend to see different riders at the top of the podium because of the slower and slick conditions. Between bike issues caused by the conditions and those deciding not to run in these conditions saw many not show up for the third moto. An example of this is 14 of the 42 racers in open pro sport did not take the line for the final moto.

The premier-tier young gun group was likely making their last appearances at the ranch as amateurs. This group includes Dax Bennick, Casey Cochran, and possibly Krystian Janik as these riders will either go pro right after racing here or next season as they progress in their racing careers.

Full official racing results can be found here from MXsports.

Fun Side of things

Festivities bring in fan favorites that are there to watch the action and/or promote their new thing and people love to see them. There are also those that work long hours behind the scenes to put on a great event and get little recognition and often take for too much static for what they have control over just because they are in front of you at the moment. We thank everyone for their hard work and for putting on the best possible event given the conditions.